(c)Mateo Ivankovic 2017
December 14, 2017
St. John of the Cross
Dear Family of Mary!
May 25, 1988 "Dear children! I am inviting you to a complete surrender to God. Pray, little children, that satan may not carry you about like the branches in the wind. Be strong in God. I desire that through you the whole world may get to know the God of joy. By your life bear witness for God's joy. Do not be anxious nor worried. God himself will help you and show you the way. I desire that you love all men with my love. Only in that way can love reign over the world. Little children, you are mine. I love you and want you to surrender to me so that I can lead you to God. Never cease praying so that satan cannot take advantage of you. Pray for the knowledge that you are mine. I bless you with blessings of joy. Thank you for having responded to my call."
In this message Our Lady makes it clear that we need to surrender our whole lives to her, making a complete surrender to God through her. But in the same message she warns us that Satan wants to carry us about like the branches in the wind. She tells us that Satan wants to take advantage of us. He does this through temptation.
Our Mother knows that we are safest when we have given our entire lives over to God, when we have surrendered all to Him. We received a powerful example of this very situation from Camilla. She wrote this email yesterday:
Dear Cathy,
I would like to give you a testimony of something important that happened to me in the last 48 hours.
I need physiotherapy these days because I hurt my ankle. So I called a friend for the phone number of her massage therapist whom I then called.
He told me that his massage would not only to me good physically, but that it would be a spiritual experience, in which through body hypnosis, I would be disconnected from reasoning and brought into a state of deep meditation. I thought to myself that this was nothing more than fashionable new-age language, and took two appointments with him.
As soon as I had hung up I started to become restless, and this restlessness kept steadily increasing. Although I knew that this restless feeling came from what that man had told me, I didn't want to cancel the appointments because my curiosity of mind didn't allow me to and because I didn't want to give in to fear and restlessness. I kept saying to myself, "It's only a massage. There's nothing wrong with it". But my restlessness kept on growing. This morning, I woke up at 3 o'clock and started to pray. And my prayer, which is usually a source of peace and joy, became all fuzzy, like a radio which is badly tuned.
So I decided to open my email and do whatever inspiration I would get from your daily reflection. As soon as I saw the surrender prayer you proposed, before I even started reading it, I immediately knew that I had to cancel those appointments on the spot. I immediately and clearly realized that I belong to our Mother Mary, body, spirit and soul, and through her to God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. As well as all my desires, all my imagination etc., in sickness and in health. And that everything that is outside God is completely incompatible because it doesn't exist. And that all my longings are to be focused on God alone. And my peace and joy immediately returned!
I thought you needed to know this.
Lots of love,
Camilla
Thank you Camilla! I think we all needed to hear this testimony. Indeed, it is our surrender to Jesus and Mary that keeps us safe from the enemy, from his deceptions and lies. It is our surrender that gives us light, helps us walk in the right direction towards Heaven, and keeps us safe from evil. God loves us and can protect us when we place our lives in His hands.
Let's all thank the Lord for His protection for Camilla! I remember writing that reflection! I didn't know what I would write, and sat a long while in prayer, not knowing. But then it occurred to me to look for a good surrender prayer online. In my first attempt, the beautiful prayer I sent out yesterday popped up! It was meant for Camilla. But it is very good for all of us too!! Here it is again, so we can pray it today.
A prayer of Surrender from St. Vincent's Parish -
SURRENDER PRAYER
God, my Father, I thank you for all that you are, and all that you do for me through your Son Jesus Christ. I praise you for my life, for your mercy and for your Eucharist. In Jesus' name, Father, I place myself entirely in your Heart. I surrender to you my whole self, my heart, my mind, my memory, my imagination, my will, my emotions, my passions, my body, my sexuality, my desire for human approval, my weaknesses, my desires, my sins.
I surrender every person in my life to you. I surrender every situation in my life to you. I surrender every relationship I am in to you. I surrender every concern I have to you. I surrender every fear I have to you. I surrender every doubt I have to you. I surrender all confusion I have to you. I surrender all sadness I am experiencing in my heart to you. I surrender all my wounds to you. I surrender all anxiety and worry I have to you. I surrender all that deceives me in my heart to you. I trust you to care for me and others in a perfectly loving way.
As I have emptied myself, and surrendered everything to you, I ask you now, Father, to fill me with your Holy Spirit and all the gifts and fruits of your Spirit. Holy Spirit you are the source of love, hope, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, tenderness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. Purify my desires. Help me to open my heart to you. Help me to become perfectly receptive as a pure child. Help me to believe in your love for me. Help me to hope in your love. Help me to receive from the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus all grace and virtues necessary for me to become the person you created me to be. I ask this in the Name of Jesus Christ, Your son, God Almighty Father.
O Most Holy Immaculate Virgin Mary. I entrust this prayer to your Heart, and ask you to press it to your wounded heart and intercede for me to your Son Jesus. Please help me to be as you are, a perfect disciple, an obedient servant, a true child of God. Amen.
Tomorrow we begin the Christmas Novena with the Parish! You can pray, live, with those climbing Apparition Hill at 2:00 pm Medjugorje Time. Our Novena prayers will be sent out in the Daily Reflection, and also prayed during the Hour of Mercy that directly follows the Climb.
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2017
PS. Mike Nolan has produced two new CDs: (Still time to order for Christmas!!)
"Oh Jesus, We Adore You!" (A collection of songs used for Adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in Medjugorje. It is very prayerful and peaceful!)
"The Mary TV Soundtrack!" (A joyful compilation of the music used on Mary TV! )
CDs are $15.00 each, and you can order them directly from Mike Nolan
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